COVER STORY  FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO EAT ...and they're all grown here in the Inland Northwest.

Given the opportunity to see better, to delay or prevent Alzheimer’s, coronary disease or diabetes… would you take it? Diet is key to staying healthy and keeping chronic diseases at bay, so InHealth NW challenged me to choose five foods we should be eating.

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LIFESTYLES  It’s finally warm outside and time to get out those pretty glasses and whip up some fun, fruity drinks. But watch out. That cool beverage that goes down so sweetly could contain more than half of your daily caloric intake. Read More>>

SPECIAL SECTION  With a new puppy romping around the White House, kids are bound to start asking whether it’s about time for their family to get a pet as well. Whether kids grow up on a farm filled with animals or in a city with a fish tank, animals are an important part of childhood. Read More>>

PARENTING  Nearly everyone with children has at some point wished their offspring came with an instruction manual. But for parents of children with ADHD, the need is especially acute. For 40 years, Spokane psychologist Robert Atwood witnessed families attempting to negotiate the chaos caused the disorder. Read More>>

SENIORS  Gerry Boston isn’t good with faces. It’s not that she can’t remember them — her 85-year-old mind’s still razor sharp. It’s that she can’t see them. Her peripheral vision is fine, but the center is a muddled blur.

Her ability to recognize — and to read and to drive — has been impaired. She can’t even see her own face in the mirror. Read More>>

ALT MEDICINE  Loki trots slowly through a clearing of spring-growth trees, his caramel color shining against the backdrop of prairie fields and blue skies. His home at Westar Ranch is a picturesque landscape of 110 acres, with white picket fences and horses the color of honey and dark chocolate. Read More>>

GUEST COLUMN  Has it ever occurred to you that we may be looking at health care in this county in the wrong light? What if we viewed health care in the same light that we view education for our children? Read More>>

INNOVATION  It was in a grocery store one day when a stranger approached Katy’s mother in tears. The stranger — who somehow knew that Katy had lived for eight years with anorexia — wanted to know where she could get help for her own child who had an eating disorder. Read More>>

SPECIAL SECTION  Like a paint-by-numbers picture, the Community Indicators Initiative of Spokane is an Eastern Washington University project to compile numbers about all sorts of things — from how often people around here use sports facilities to per-capita personal income — and assemble them to form a snapshot of the city. Sounds kind of boring, but the numbers actually paint a compelling picture.
So how are kids here doing? Could be better, it turns out. Fewer than half are considered healthy eaters or exercise as much as they should. Read More>>

SPECIAL SECTION  It’s a now familiar sight: kids shielded in sunhats and coated with sunscreen before they venture outdoors. Parents have been warned to help children avoid tanning, and a sunburn is nearly akin to child abuse. But some experts say parents have gone overboard, and their efforts are inadvertently robbing kids of the health benefits of sunlight. More specifically, they worry that kids aren’t getting enough of the vitamin D their bodies produce when exposed to the sun. Read More>>

SPECIAL SECTION  Just as children learn to clean their rooms and finish their homework, they need to establish healthy eating standards while they’re young. Habits, good and bad, become ingrained as children grow up. In fact, one of the best predictors of adult obesity is being overweight as a teenager. While just 25 percent of overweight preschoolers will remain heavy into adulthood, by the time kids are in high school, almost 75 percent of those who are overweight will remain heavy or obese as an adult. Read More>>

LIFESTYLES  It’s fitting that local film company North by Northwest chose Bordeaux on Broadway as their movie crew caterer. While Chef/Owner Justina Renoud has just made the “final edits” on her new restaurant, two blocks west of the Spokane courthouse, film crews on location in Spokane have been enjoying her healthy creations for months. Read More>>

NEWS  Even before the accident, Katie Deck, a 31-year-old mother of two, knew addiction all too well. It was her addiction to alcohol that led to a DUI. And that DUI was a wakeup call that made her decide to quit drinking once and for all.

But a mere week later — a week sober — she fell while skateboarding, tearing her ACL and meniscus. When the hospital discharged her, they prescribed her Oxycontin. Read More>>

PARENTING  A. ‘Tis the season for sneezing, so get your tissues. For those prone to seasonal allergies, beautiful weather and blooming can herald a sea of mucus and misery. What is going haywire to produce hayfever? Try this analogy: Think of an allergic person’s nose as a prison, whose inmates (histamines and other chemical trouble makers) are kept in their cells (mast cells) behind lock and key. Things are fine until the keys show up, releasing the captives from some or many of the cells. Some noses are like country club prisons with mild-mannered accountants while some noses are like the state penitentiary with dangerous inmates. Therefore the severity of a prison break will vary, from mild sniffles to hives, swelling, breathing difficulties and possibly dangerous situations. Read More>>

COVER STORY  There’s no doubt about it — salt tastes good. A sprinkle of plain old table salt (aka sodium chloride) perks up the taste buds and truly enhances the flavors in food.

    Salt is also critical to our body chemistry: A certain level of sodium is necessary for the correct function of nerves and muscles. The minimum daily sodium intake to maintain these functions is somewhere between 500 and 1,500 milligrams per day. Read More>>

COVER STORY  It may be the hardest habit to break: Opting for “cruelty-free” animal products or smaller bunches of lettuce when the other, bigger stuff costs half as much.

Concerns about hormones and pesticide residues tend to diminish when it comes time to fork over more than $5 for a gallon of organic milk or pay twice as much for produce. Read More>>

FROM THE EDITOR  Warmer weather means that fresh-from-the-garden produce can’t be far away. Whether you’re planting your own garden or visiting farmers markets, taking part in a cooperative or just growing herbs on your porch, knowing where your food comes from adds a special richness to the dining experience. Read More>>